Augur
by WastedDreams
Summary: Sasuke blamed Itachi, poisoned his own mind, and shut his one true friend out. Itachi left, went somewhere mysterious, but before he did that, he made the little girl promise one thing; to protect his younger brother. SasukexOC
1. Preface: Bloodline

_**Author´s note:**__ So this first chapter is actually the preface, prologue, whatever you want to call it. I am afraid there is no Sasuke in this chapter, just a mention of him. I wanted to sort of "set the stage" for the whole fic. _

_I´ve had this idea in my head since I was twelve (yes, really) – I´m seventeen now, by the way – and I´ve never had the guts to really get it out. I love writing, even if I suck at it. And I am really in love with this story. So this is my hundredth attempt to write it. I hope it comes out well; it would be a shame to let it go again. _

_As for pronunciations, here they are…_

_Hitomi: He-toe-me_

_Ami: Ah-me_

_Nobu: Noe-boo_

_Fujigawa: Foo-gee-gah-wah_

_Kimori: Kee-moe-ree_

_So anyways, I hope you enjoy the read. I hope you understand it. And please, review! _

_-Luna _

Preface: Bloodline

"I see." A man in his late twenties mumbled. His green eyes looked to the ground, deep in thought. He considered what the boy sitting in front of him had said.

Itachi Uchiha, the prodigy, knew exactly what the man was doing; he was searching for the lie. Of course, there was none. The boy wouldn´t have approached the Fijugawa clan otherwise.

He had spent some time learning the history of this diminutive clan. The story, he came to realize, sparked great interest in him. The more he learned of this family, the more tangled he became in the web. But the young Uchiha did not mind being tangled, for his head was clear; he knew exactly _why_ he was here.

The Nentougan was a rare gift, only being seen in this particular clan. To encounter such a gift was something not many ninjas would be able to do, for this gift could only be possessed by one person at a time. There was but one blood line that carried on the Nentougan; and the man who would one day pass it on sat across the table from Itachi.

Nobu was the clan leader, and although he was young, he was wise. Itachi watched as the man looked up, green eyes meeting Itachi´s own dark orbs.

The older man smiled at the boy. "It seems you Uchiha´s will never seize to surprise me." The man reached over to the pot of tea sitting on the table and began serving the hot liquid. Steam rose up from both tea cups. "I trust you, young Itachi, I truly do: for as you may know, I am able to tell whether or not you are lying to me. Such is the power of my Nentougan." Nobu handed the tea cup to Itachi. "But you must understand one thing. Even if I know your words are true, I cannot be sure of your motives. Please, I would much appreciate to know your reasons for approaching my family for this particular matter. You must be aware that we are not a very powerful clan."

The young Uchiha simply nodded. With his eleven years of age, Itachi had seen more of the world than most adults. His skills had already reached a Jounin level. "I understand your doubt; I would react the same way if my enemy´s child were to approach me in such a manner."

"Oh, no, Itachi, you are not my enemy´s child. Your father is not my enemy." Nobu smiled warmly. "We were both simply at the wrong place, at the wrong time."

Itachi nodded. "Of course, Fujigawa-sama." The boy took a sip from his tea. "Then I shall explain myself." His dark eyes locked with the man's. "I have but one wish, one dream. And as simple as it may seem, it is not. I dream of maintaining the peace within our village. I have come to realize that is my sole purpose in life. And I find it quite ironic that my own father is the person who wants to destroy that peace." Itachi took another sip from his tea. "But nevertheless, blood relation or not, I will do what is necessary to keep the order."

Nobu´s expression turned hard. "Are you truly willing, young Itachi, to betray your family, your own flesh and blood, to spare other, insignificant lives?"

Itachi´s own boyish features darkened. "If the lives of our civilians are insignificant to you, Fujigawa-sama, then you are not the man I thought you were." He sighed. "But yes, I would be willing."

The Fujigawa leader could feel Itachi´s pulse, even if there was more than a few feet of distance between them. It was obvious to him immediately that the boy was honest. Nobu was testing him and his loyalty, so he continued questioning the boy. "I am aware that you have a brother, my friend. I heard he has recently turned five. A wonderful age, I´m sure you´ve noticed. Tell me, then, are you willing to sacrifice his life to maintain peace?"

Itachi stiffened.

Nobu simply stared at him with warm eyes as he continued. "What would happen if your brother came between you and your purpose, as you have put it?" The man took a drink from his cup. "Would you end his life?"

"I…" Itachi clenched his fists. "I am afraid I did not imagine that outcome, Fijugawa-sama. I apologize."

Nobu chuckled, immediately lightening the mood. "No need, my boy. I know how hard it is to choose between family and duty. In the end, though, you must do what is right." He finished his last drop of tea. "If you excuse me, young Uchiha, I have a prior engagement I desperately need to attend to." Itachi noticed the softness that melted into Nobu´s emerald eyes. Both males rose from their seats on the ground. Itachi bowed to the older man.

"Thank you for your time, Fujigawa-sama. I am sorry for disrupting." Itachi´s apology was sincere.

Nobu held up one hand, letting him know it was alright, and smiled. "My daughter will understand. Perhaps she will invite you to play with her someday." That was when Itachi realized that Nobu did trust him. If he hadn´t, he wouldn´t have mentioned his family so openly. He wouldn´t have thrown an invitation. Nobu _wanted_ Itachi to come back. Nobu wanted his _friendship._

The man began walking to the door. Once he reached to open it, though, he turned to Itachi. "Family is everything. Don´t let yours waste away. Do what you can to stop them, but if that fails, we will speak again, my friend." Nobu looked to the ground at his feet, deep in thought. "Just know that I am not fond of carnage. And I do not wish your family death."

Itachi nodded as the man opened the sliding door and disappeared into the house.

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"Itachi-kun! Itachi-kun!" The little girl skipped into the front door, where her mother, a pale beauty of only twenty-three with a round, pregnant belly, had opened the door for the Uchiha. Itachi´s face softened when he saw the child heading his way.

"Hitomi-chan, what have I told you about running around the house?" The young woman scolded her only child. Her azure eyes stared expectantly into Hitomi´s blue and green ones.

Little Hitomi crossed her arms and pouted. "I could slip and fall and get very, very, very hurt." She turned her different colored orbs to her mother, pleading. "But Itachi-kun is late!"

"I apologize, Hitomi-chan." Itachi kneeled down in front of her and ruffled her hair. "I had some things to do."

"You_ always_ have some things to do." The girl whined.

Her mother chuckled lightly, a sound similar to wind chimes in autumn air. "Leave Itachi-kun be, he did come, after all." The woman stepped to the side and smiled at the Uchiha. "Come on in."

Itachi bowed to the lady of the house and stepped inside. "Thank you, Ami-san." He felt a small tug at his hand and looked down to see Hitomi trying to pull him.

"I made tea for us! And lots and lots of sweets! Well, Mommy made the sweets, but I made the tea!" She exclaimed happily.

"Is that so?" Itachi allowed himself to be pulled along. Ami closed the door behind them and followed. "All by yourself?"

"Yep!" She beamed her toothy grin up at him.

It had been a year since Itachi had first approached the Fijugawa clan. Back then, he had come to them for aid, for their support. After all, it had been Nobu who had first discovered his father´s plans to rise against Konoha. Itachi had taken Nobu´s advice and had tried to make his father see sense, but of course, the Uchiha leader shook off his elder son, just as easily as he would swat off a fly. Itachi came to realize that his father would never come to his senses, so he returned to the Fujigawa compound.

Nobu understood immediately when he saw the Uchiha come up the steps of his home. The Fujigawa leader had been sitting on the porch along with his wife, looking at their only child with adoration as she chased a butterfly around the garden. Itachi had never seen so much love in a father´s eyes, although that wasn´t too shocking, seeing as Fugaku demanded his sons to be the best and only demonstrated pride, not love. Mikoto was a lot like Ami; both sweet and simple. Both young and beautiful. Both full of love for their children.

Before Itachi could get a word to Nobu, a flash of caramel locks had danced in front of him. The child that blocked his path was small, with a pair of different colored eyes; the right was blue, like Ami´s, while the left was green, like Nobu´s. Her skin was as pale as snow, but her smile was as warm as the sun. The little girl had bowed ungracefully to Itachi and introduced herself. "Fujigawa Hitomi, it´s a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to play with me?"

As the year progressed, Itachi had spent much time with the little girl. Nobu could tell that the Uchiha had grown soft for his daughter, and he didn´t mind, either. The Fujigawa leader knew that whatever outcome this silent battle between clans had, Itachi would protect his daughter. That was all he needed to know.

Hitomi skipped down the hallway, tugging on Itachi´s arm. She babbled about all the things they would play today, which Itachi could only smile at. Their tracks were stopped when another woman came into view at the end of the hall. Her hair was the Fujigawa´s signature caramel brown, her eyes green emeralds, and a few wrinkles were taking a hold of her once flawless features.

"There will be no playing today, Hitomi. Today you will study proper manners." The woman said. Itachi had come to know her as Kimori, Nobu´s older sister. She hadn´t made much of a secret of her distaste for Itachi or his family.

"But I want to-!" Hitomi began to complain.

"You have more than enough time to fool around later, today you study." Kimori interrupted.

"I wasn´t gonna fool around!" Hitomi challenged her aunt. "Itachi-kun promised to teach me a new ninja move!"

"Ninja move?" Kimori shook her head in disapproval. "You are a girl, Hitomi, do not disappoint me the way my own daughter has. Women are not meant to fight."

Ami stepped forward, smiling at the elder woman, ignoring the comments. "Kimori-san, would it be possible to skip lessons today. Hitomi-chan deserves-."

"No, you may not have been born into this family, Ami, but Hitomi carries the leaders' blood, and as such, she will learn to behave like a proper lady, not some dirty shinobi. I understand you´re bringing up was different, but I will not allow my niece to be raised as some peasant." The woman took Hitomi´s arm. "As for you, Uchiha, Nobu-sama wishes to speak to you."

Itachi´s onyx irises never left the little girl´s gaze as her aunt took her away. When the door shut, Ami sighed behind him. The Uchiha turned to look at the pale woman. Ami shook her head. "She can be so nasty sometimes," then a smile curled her full lips, "I hear her daughter isn´t speaking to her." As sweet as Ami could be, there was a part of her that darkened. Kimori had a way of bringing out the worst of her. "Should we go see my husband, then?"

Itachi nodded and followed her down the hall. He was surprised when he was led into the bedroom instead of the tea room, where he usually spoke the to Fujigawa leader. As Ami touched the door, she turned back and gave Itachi a sad glance. "He doesn´t want anyone to know about this," she whispered. "We trust you, Itachi-kun, but I have to beg you to keep this a secret."

"I promise." The Uchiha vowed.

The woman opened the door, leading him into the room. Everything was dark; curtains closed shut, keeping away any light. There was a rotting smell in the air. Itachi wrinkled his nose; something smelled like death. Once his eyes came upon the bed, he realized why. Nobu lay in his bed, limp; a strange liquid ran down his mouth. Ami hurried to his side, grabbing a cloth on the way to wipe his mouth.

"Nobu," she whispered as she stroked his brown hair, "Itachi is here."

The weak man made an attempt to rise, but his body would not allow it. He settled for lifting his hand just a few inches and signaling Itachi to approach. As the boy walked closer to the man, Ami rose, touched Itachi´s shoulder and mumbled, "I´ll leave you two alone."

The door shut behind her. The closer Itachi got, the stench got worse. He could make out the liquid´s color now: a strange yellow, almost golden. He heard a chuckle from the pillows. "I look that bad, huh?"

Itachi pulled up a chair and sat at the bedside. "Just a bit."

The next words hit like a giant boulder. "I´m dying." When Itachi didn´t answer, Nobu continued. His voice was rough, and the more he spoke, the faster the golden liquid fell. "My fate has been sealed, and I fear the worse. You probably already know, though, don´t you?"

Itachi nodded. "Word has been given to every Uchiha who is a shinobi. They await orders to bring Fujigawa down."

"Why is it you can never bring good news?" Nobu joked, a strained smile on his lips. "Kimori has been harsher than usual; she blames you for our fate. But it is not your fault, young Itachi. It is mine, for defying your father."

"You did the right thing."

"Sometimes the right thing isn´t the best thing." A cough made Nobu spit out more liquid. He reached for the cloth Ami had left and wiped his face. He saw dark eyes study the substance. "It´s not a disease, neither is it a sickness. I am not ill." Nobu put the cloth away. "My father had the same symptoms, as did my grandfather, on their death beds."

"What is it?" The boy was confused. If it wasn´t a sickness, then what kind of thing could do this?

"The Nentougan." Nobu frowned. "When it came to me, seven years ago, this disgusting substance fell from my mouth. It signals what the ability will perceive. I could tell when someone lied to me, because my ability had to do with that. As it fell from me, it did from my father; only for him, it was his ears. You see, my father was able to hear things no one else could: he could read minds." Nobu leaned into his pillows. "The Nentougan is a coward; it chooses a body where it could live in peace; not abused and with the most years of life. When my father was dying, both Kimori and I sat beside him, waiting for the ability to choose one of us. The chosen one would be the family leader, and it chose me." His frown deepened. "I know my ability may seem weak, but there are parts of it, dark parts, where it can be even more deadly than your Sharingan. If one tries to reach those parts, he could die in the attempt. If the Nentougan feels threatened by its host, it will kill the body where it lies and find a new one. Of course, the body can only be one that carries the bloodline." He looked at Itachi with strained emerald eyes. "I fear for my Hitomi. She is the next in line, but I can´t be certain it will choose her, it´s never chosen a woman before. Besides, it could pick my niece, Hisa, after all. Or even my baby, Koen, but I am still worried."

"I understand," Itachi looked at the man meaningfully. "Whoever inherits it is in grave danger; my father has left order to destroy the bloodline."

"Then I have sealed my family´s fate along with my own. I have been blind," Nobu began to cough again. "Promise me…" More coughs escaped his lips.

"I promise you, Nobu-sama, that I will keep Hitomi safe. No harm will be done to her, even if the Nentougan chooses another." The young Uchiha had never felt so sure of anything else. His heartbeat was racing; he could feel the pressure now.

Nobu smiled then. "Thank you, Itachi."


	2. Ch 1: React

_**Author´s note**__: Hey! I redid it and added a few other things...so if you read it before...there´s a couple new things. So here´s chapter one for you! I don´t know if it´s confusing, so please let me know. As for the setting, there´s a six year time skip from the preface to this chapter. _

_Things to keep in mind about the font…_

-Normal story telling.

_-Thoughts, distinguished words and flashbacks._

_Oh, and I´m not making the series dialogue exact to the original: I think it´s a bit boring to read the same thing over and over again. But I´m sure you´ll catch on quickly._

_On another note, I did not notice how many times I misspelled Fujigawa on the preface…so for those of you who are wondering…it´s Fujigawa, not Fijugawa. I would fix it if it weren´t for the fact that I´m still learning the ropes of this site. So I apologize for my mistake._

_And yes, my profile picture __**is**__ in fact Hitomi. Go into my profile if you want to get a better look at her. _:B

_Review please!_

_-Luna_

Chapter One: React

Fire; it burned. The flames surrounded her body, contrasting perfectly to her pale skin. The heat was unbearable. She wanted to scream, to run away; but her feet were glued on the floor and her voice was lost. All she could do was watch as the flames licked her flesh, until their sparkle consumed her body whole.

Hitomi shot up from her bed, sweat covering her brow. The nightmare had brought on a golden color in her irises; and even awake, she felt the fire. The dream had been reoccurring for the previous nights. It was a cryptic one, since her visions had always been clearer. Her golden eyes had permitted her to see the future: the gruesome one, at that. So having strange, painful dreams was just another part of her. The inferno in her veins subsided after a few moments of heavy breaths. She ran the back of her paper hand over her brow, wiping away the warm sheet of sweat that covered her skin.

Only after the burning sensation disappeared did she mobilize: the gold in her eyes fading along with the sensation. Hitomi got up from her bed and studied her home.

It was small with yellow walls and a wooden floor. The kitchen, living room, dining room, and sleeping quarters were all in one. The only thing separate was the bathroom. There were kunais scattered all around the floor, along with a few shuriken. An open scroll half fell from the table. Dirty dishes attracted a few flies in the tiny kitchen counter. Her light blue skirt and vest were draped on the back of one of the two chairs.

She scratched the back of her head and sighed. "I really need to clean up." Hitomi tiptoed towards the chair to retrieve her clothing, avoiding the kunai´s sharp edges and made her way to the bathroom.

The water that cascaded from the shower was nowhere near warm; but the kunoichi decided it would be best that way. She began to ponder over her dream. There was no third party in it, which in itself was strange: she´d always seen other people crying, suffering and dying, but not her. Perhaps her time was coming, then. Hitomi´s head dropped as her pale hand appeared in front of her vision: she studied it all while twisting it one way and another. Finally she let out a breath of frustration and finished cleansing her body of sweat.

Hitomi jumped out of the shower and reached for her clothes. The fabric slipped easily into her frame; the black of her spandex shorts and undershirt contrasting to the pale flesh.

Her feet – now covered with navy blue ninja shoes – carried her to the tiny kitchen. The smell of dirty dishes invaded her senses and made her wrinkle her nose. Hitomi ignored the stench and searched for food. When she opened the refrigerator, a breath of frustration escaped her pale pink lips. It was empty; breakfast would be on the way, then. Hitomi finished getting herself ready and left her small home.

The streets of Konoha were crowded in the mornings; mother´s shopping for the day´s dishes. A few children ran around playing tag. As she walked by, most people looked another way. A few women pulled their children closer.

After her family had been massacred – being labeled as an accident, since it was believed the Fujigawa´s died in the fire that consumed their compound – Hitomi had been marked as _cursed_. Her presence alone was said to be deadly. The villagers thought of her as a bad omen, and most simply kept their distance. It hurt her, to say the least, but the mask she had created for these people was not one she would shake off.

Hitomi had chosen to hide behind naivety: she had no wish to become a stoic statue. After a couple years of practicing this new mask, ignoring glares and whispers had become relatively simple. Life had turned gentler, too. So the kunoichi kept up her charade and sheltered her fragile self under the wing of obliviousness.

Her feet stopped their strut when she had a clear view of the Academy doors. A few of her classmates her already entering the large building, while younger students played outside. Some individuals made their auras more known than others. Hitomi observed as the students entered the Academy.

A rush of kunoichi´s scrambled indelicately into the edifice, signaling the presence of the Academy´s heartthrob; Uchiha Sasuke.

All the while, a Jounin dropped a guilty looking boy to the front of the structure. His orange jumpsuit standing out amongst other outfits. It was clear to see who this boy was: Uzumaki Naruto, the prankster.

One last stampede interrupted her observation of the blonde boy. Two girls - one in pink and the other in purple - pushed each other to enter the Academy. Sworn rivals, those two were, and probably the Uchiha´s biggest fans: Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.

Hitomi smiled to herself as she watched every exchange that took place in the area. A hand fell on her shoulder, but the kunoichi didn´t need to look back to see his face. Soon the hand was replaced by an arm and her head received a slight pressure as his head rested on hers. "Morning, Hitomi."

The girl smirked and looked to her friend. "Ikasu-kun, you´re late. Why am I not surprised?"

The dark blonde shrugged, a coat of sleep covering his emerald colored eyes. "Probably cause I´m always late." Ikasu leaned away from the smaller girl. "Anyways, let´s get the heck out of here. Iruka-sensei hasn´t come yet, has he?"

Hitomi shook her head. "Haven´t really seen him yet, but as fun as the sounds, I don´t think we should skip today."

"Why´s that?" He arched a brow. "I found this great place last night."

"Today´s the final exam." She said bluntly, teasing him.

The boy took a few steps back, revealing part of his green clothing. "Exam?" His voice rose with his shock. "Since when?"

"Since about two weeks ago." Hitomi´s sinister smile grew.

Ikasu gripped his spiky hair in panic. "Quick! What´s it about?"

"Clone Jutsu."

"Kami, I haven´t practiced that one in awhile," his voice faded as he thought up a plan. "Have you?"

The kunoichi giggled and winked. "Do I look like someone who practiced?"

The taller boy looked to the doors and gazed upon Iruka entering the building. "We´re late anyways, since Iruka-sensei beat us to the punch, so is there really any point going?"

"Well, let´s see. We´re late, so that takes points off our exam as it is. If we flunk, which we most likely will, we´ll get stuck in the Academy…"

"Not to mention we´ll look like total idiots in front of the class when they find out. I already felt pretty stupid when Naruto made us perform the Transformation Jutsu and it took me awhile to figure out the hand sign." He added crossing his arms and pouting. "That Naruto sure as hell is asking for it."

"Yeah, yeah, get back on topic here, Ikasu-kun" she waved him off and continued thinking, "if we miss class and pretend we were sick, maybe we could get a second try. We´d get time to practice."

"Sounds great to me! Let´s go!" He gripped her upper arm and turned on his heel, a smile plastered on his tan face.

"Now where do you two think you´re going?" A voice came from behind.

"Crap," muttered Ikasu as he turned slowly.

Hitomi placed a hand on the back of her head as she, too, turned and smiled guiltily. Both preteens looked up to find Mizuki towering over them. A sly smile graced his lips. "You weren´t trying to ditch, we´re you?"

"Of course not!" Ikasu tried to assure. "See, it´s just that…uh…well, we…"

"I forgot something back home, Mizuki-sensei, and Ikasu-kun didn´t want me to walk alone."

"Is that so? And what was so important that you had to risk your exam for?" He interrogated, never losing his cool. The preteens spotted two medium sized boxes in his hands.

"A, um…" Ikasu tried to formulate coherent words, but he had always been one to fold under pressure.

"A good luck charm. I never take an exam without it." Hitomi turned her smile into an innocent one.

Mizuki then chuckled. "Then I must say it is some good luck charm, Hitomi, if it has made you get barely average grades." The white haired man smirked when he saw her face turn into a scowl. "I will forget your tardiness if you hurry inside."

"What about Iruka-sensei?" Ikasu inquired, still uneasy.

"I´ll take care of it, on one condition." Mizuki examined their eyes.

Ikasu´s natural personality returned. "Well, get on with it! What do you want?"

The young adult didn´t speak, he merely smirked and handed one box to each of them. "There, that should be sufficient." He began to walk towards the Academy.

Both twelve year olds shared a look of frustration and followed the older man. Judging by the weight of the boxes, there was something metallic inside. It wasn´t long before they reached the classroom. Iruka stood behind his desk, greeting his students. All heads fell to the door at the three newcomers.

Iruka´s brow twitched. "How nice of you to join us, Hitomi, Ikasu." He signaled for them to stand in front of the class. Both of them hung their heads. "Now would you mind telling the class why you´re late? I´m sure today´s excuse will be fascinating, Ikasu?"

"I thought it´d be obvious, Iruka-sensei." He said matter-of-factly, lifting his head with pride.

"We were helping Mizuki-sensei bring these over." Hitomi chimed in as she held up her box.

Iruka gave Mizuki a hard look. "It´s true, they were helping me. Sorry for making them be late, they´ll make it up to you."

"Oh, I´m sure they will," Iruka saw through Mizuki´s lie, but he played along as to not embarrass the children anymore. A few whispers were already flowing around the class room. The brown haired teacher crossed his arms and smiled. "Why don´t you two go first, then, since you were so eager to help with these exams?"

"But we-!" Ikasu´s voice was cut off.

"Wonderful!" Iruka celebrated. "Let´s go Ikasu, you´ll be the first."

Laughter filled the room and the boy was just about ready to yell at them to shut up. His green eyes scanned the class and rested upon one laughing face. She was blonde, with soft blue eyes: the most beautiful girl he´d ever set eyes on. A blush covered his cheeks when their eyes met for a moment. Ikasu dropped his gaze and began to walk out to the room, following Iruka and Mizuki.

Hitomi didn´t need to ask to know why his usually stormy nature was turned down. Her own eyes met with the girl´s: Yamanaka Ino. Ikasu had told her about his feelings towards her, how her face seemed to calm him. She advised him to confess his feelings, but the boy simply turned beat red and shook his head. Hitomi sighed.

The Fujigawa made her way towards her usual desk and sat down. Both her arms were placed on the wooden surface as she dropped her head ungracefully into their comfort. She shut her eyes and ignored the noise threatening to break her concentration.

The fire returned to her mind, and for a few moments all she could do was think of its meaning.

It wasn´t long before someone disrupted her thoughts. A poke on her left side made her eyes open slightly and her head rise. She glared at the intruder. It was a boy, with brown hair and gray eyes. The smirk that plastered his face screamed trouble.

"So, why were you really late today?" He teased. "Don´t tell me you got caught up with your boyfriend."

Hitomi yawned. "He´s not my boyfriend."

Another boy popped into the conversation. "Sure as hell looks like it, Fujigawa."

Hitomi gave them a blank stare and then placed her head down again, shutting her eyes.

One pulled her hair. "Hey! I´m not done with you!"

Hitomi´s blue and green orbs threw kunais towards the first boy who had spoken. Her hand went to his collar and she gave him a sweet, yet menacing, smile. "Keep your hands to yourself, if you want to keep them at all."

"Hitomi." A stern voice called from the door. Mizuki stood, arms crossed and signaled for her to come. "Your turn."

The girl released her prey and shot both boys a meaningful look before exiting the room.

* * *

><p>"Oh, yeah! Who´s the best? Tell me, tell me!" The blonde rejoiced as he jumped up and down around his friend.<p>

Hitomi laughed. "We are, obviously."

"Common," he gripped her hands. "Celebrate with me!" He maintained his childlike behavior and continued hopping, taking the girl with him. "This is so great, Hitomi! I hope we get into the same team, though." His energy piped down and his scared olive eyes studied her blue and green ones for a moment. "What if they separate us?"

The girl shrugged. "Well, I suppose that the teams will be formed depending on grades to balance out the power."

"That makes sense, but what would that mean for us?"

"Neither of us have the best grades so we´ll have to just wait and see."

Ikasu´s index finger and thumb rested on his chin. "Speaking of low grades, I hear Naruto didn´t pass. He was the only one to flunk."

The kunoichi crossed her arms. "I wonder where he went."

"Don´t know and don´t really care." The boy huffed as he fixed the headband on his forehead. "Serves him right for everything he put us through."

Hitomi shot the boy a glare and punched his arm. "Be nice, even if he caused us more trouble than we caused ourselves, he still wanted to be a shinobi. That was his only dream." Her eyes scanned the outside of the Academy; each of her classmates commemorated with their families.

"Don´t tell me you feel guilty, Hitomi," Ikasu teased. When he caught the distant look in her eyes, he sighed and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "It´s his fault for not studying."

She pointed one pale finger to the headband tied around her waist. "I don´t even want this, Ikasu-kun, you know that."

"And still, you don´t even try to purposely flunk. I´m beginning to think I´ll never understand you, Fujigawa." Ikasu´s thick chuckle filled the air around them.

"Probably not." She countered and returned is one arm hug. A flash of green caught her eye and a frustrated breath escaped her thin lips. "Incoming."

The boy quickly left her embrace and began putting distance between them. "Guess word travels fast."

"Guess so," she muttered then smirked, "say hi to your dad for me, okay?"

Ikasu rolled his emerald eyes and let sarcasm color his voice. "Sure, cause I´m positive he´d just _love_ to receive it. Let´s celebrate tonight at our usual place, okay?"

"Sounds great."

He nodded and his body turned completely away from hers as he walked towards his green clothed clan - the back of his jacket showed the clan symbol; a claw-like figure.

The brand new ninja made his way through the crowd. Every family was there to support their children: embracing them and congratulating them. He could see the Haruno clan, represented by red and pink, they all took their pink-haired representative into their arms and patted her head. The Nara family also gave their new Genin, Shikamaru, pats on the back and proud smiles. His path crossed with the lone Uchiha, and the preteens stopped in their tracks to initiate a stare down. This had been something common for them: Ikasu wasn´t too fond of the boy, to say the least, especially since nearly all the girls, including his crush, were after his attention. Ikasu´s fierce look grew when he saw her purple clothing near the gloomy Sasuke. His eyes adverted before he could witness her arms wrap around the other boy.

Ikasu stomped away blindly, grumbling about how life wasn´t fair. His actions led him to crash into another body. It took him a moment to register orange clothes and a recognized symbol.

"Tategami," came an angry feminine growl. "Watch where you´re going, you idiot."

Ikasu blinked twice before coming up with a comeback. His fist clenched, "I´d tell you the same thing, Mattaki!" His voice boomed with bottled anger.

"_You´re_ the one that crashed into me, moron." The olive toned girl crossed her arms, brown eyes rolling in annoyance.

"Yeah, well, you got in my way!"

A hand landed on each of them. Both preteens looked away from each other and up at their fathers. Green faced brown in an unspoken battle for dominance. The preteens had never felt so much tension and they soon followed their father's actions; glaring at each other.

It was the green eyed man who finally smirked and broke the silence. "I see you have another weakling shinobi added into the family, Mattaki."

"And you´ve raised another bloodthirsty animal. Congratulations, Tategami." The girl´s father retorted then began to pull his only child aside. "We´ll take our leave now, Reikon."

The girl nodded. "Yes, father." They walked away without another word.

"Cowards," muttered Ikasu under his breath.

"Leave it at that," the Tategami leader turned on his heel and led the boy towards his clan. "We will speak tonight."

"But-." He didn´t want to miss his plans with Hitomi.

"It´ll be your initiation." His father said monotonously. "Do not disappoint me."

Ikasu froze. The initiation would mean that he would be judged. The clan would finally decide if he was worthy of leading them after his father passed. As the only male son – and the eldest – it would be his duty, but tonight would be the first of many tests he would have to pass in order to be accepted into that position. The boy had never wanted to have this responsibility, but it would be a dishonorable thing to do if he even thought of ignoring his duty. "I won't, father."

* * *

><p>"Damn that, Ikasu, where the hell is he?" Hitomi stood on the outside of the ramen shop tapping her foot on the ground. It wasn´t long before she began pacing back and forth. Her mind went through images of what she would do once he arrived – yelling being the least of his worries.<p>

She heard a pair of footsteps approaching and turned to the side, ready to take revenge on her friend for making her wait so long. Her half open mouth shut when she noticed it was a completely different person. Hitomi arched a caramel colored eyebrow at the dark haired boy. "Uchiha."

He stopped in his tracks. "Fujigawa."

A smirk formed on her lips. "Didn´t peg you to be the night strolling type of guy."

Sasuke mirrored her smug expression. "Didn´t think you´d be the type to wait on people."

"There´s a lot of things you don´t know about me, Uchiha." Hitomi crossed her arms.

He didn´t answer, only kept his sly grin plastered as he looked up to the sky. A drop of water fell on Konoha´s stone floor while another landed on his pale cheek. It marked the beginning of what would be a long night for the kunoichi. The girl frowned at the dark clouds forming above them. She caught his face lowering again from the corner of her eye and reciprocated the small movement. The devious look on his face bothered her more than it should. "Still afraid of storms, Fujigawa?"

Her green and blue orbs widened and the darkened at his knowledge. Storms had haunted her since she was a little girl; those nights stopped the horrific images of possible futures from approaching, but they also gave her a look in the past. Another drop of water fell and landed on the top of her head. The girl flinched but kept her composure a moment longer, just enough to counter his remark. "And here I thought you´d gone completely cold. How sweet of you to remember our good times together." She felt three more droplets fall on her body as the ground began to coat itself with water. Her voice became nervous. "Well, I really enjoyed this little conversation…goodnight, Uchiha."

"Fujigawa." He acknowledged as she turned on her heel and ran in the direction of her home. The Uchiha allowed a few more beads of rain to fall upon his pale face before making his own way home.


	3. Ch 2: Strike a Deal

_**Author**__**'s note**__: I know, I know, this took __**forever**__. I had a huge writers block. Funny thing is…I know exactly how I want this to play out. Heck, I know how this story will progress into Shippuden! But this part is so hard for me. _

_I'd appreciate reviews, guys, the few that I had (and thanks so much for those of you who took the time to write to me!) were the only thing that motivated me to write this chapter. If it weren't for them, this would probably be somewhere buried deep in my brain…or in the recycle bin. XD_

_I hope you enjoy this chapter! I had a few questions on PM about Hitomi's past, so I threw in a little bit of it…blink and you'll miss it. Oh, that too, if you have any questions, message me and I'll try to clear it up. I don't bite...hard. :P _

_'Nuff nonsense, on to the chapter! Review!_

* * *

><p>Chapter Two: Strike a Deal<p>

To say that Hitomi hated storms was an enormous understatement. Hate was a very weak word compared to her true, burning feelings towards ill weather.

I wasn't about the rain: if anything water had a way of cleansing her head.

The cold didn't bother her either. In fact, cold climate soothed her nerves more than water. If she weren't in such a bad mood, Hitomi could even say she loved chilly weather.

If she had to pinpoint the exact nature of the storm that irked her, it would be the noise. The way the sky cried out its pain: crackling and illuminating the black heavens to demonstrate rage in its purest or forms. It deafened her ears – it took her precious sleep away.

Although a sleepless night also meant escaping from the horrible visions that plagued her most nights, the Fujigawa was sure she preferred the nightmares, for storms reminded her of her own suffering. It served as an unwanted mirror. Each thundery wail brought up a blood curdling scream that buried itself deeper into her bones. It left her small body shaking; useless. By the time the storm had passed, something was usually broken and her throat was sore from screeching. Her body felt like it had been trampled over by an angry herd of elephants.

Hitomi kept her forehead pressed against her wooden desk and waited for her classmates to arrive. Tempests also made her get to the Academy earlier than usual, which made her dread even the most beautiful days. Going to class and seeing her fellow irritating companions was bad enough, being reminded of her vocally sealed fate was another matter all together.

Hitomi groaned and wondered how much longer it would take for someone – _anyone_ – to get there. Even if most of the preteens were a nuisance, being in silence had quite a nasty knack for thinning her nerves. She hit her forehead repeatedly against the wood in an attempt to wake up. Dark circles decorated her face, right under her eyes, and her vision felt foggy – blind, almost.

A dark tanned figure stood before her and rested its body on the desk in front of her. "Long night?" Iruka questioned, a smile hanging on his lips.

Hitomi yawned and then spoke in a hoarse voice. "Tell me about it."

"You have to get over that fear of yours. A shinobi shouldn't be afraid of these things. You'll have to deal with more than enough storms on missions."

"Yeah, I know." She muttered and rested her chin on her arms. "It just sort of…happens. It's not something I can control."

Iruka placed his hand on her small shoulder. "You'll learn." With that said the young man rose from the desk and walked to the front of the room, where students were already entering.

While the new shinobi arrived, their voices flooded the classroom. Most were simply stating who they'd like to be teamed up with. Others talked about how many jutsus they'd be able to acquire during their lives as ninjas of the Leaf. But most of the conversations – the loudest ones, at least – were being held by feminine voices: not that they normally weren't. It didn't take a genius to realize what – or more so, _who_ – they were talking about. The same name echoed repeatedly from one end of the room to the other; connecting conversations unintentionally. It was like listening to a parrot with an endless supply of air in his lungs. Part of her was grateful when the owner of the obnoxious name made his way inside the class, simply because the girls shushed their proclamations. The other part of Hitomi made a point to shoot the gloomy boy a vengeful glance.

Uchiha Sasuke had brought the storm with him, after all.

The desks were soon full of young Genin – even Naruto entered the room with a smug look in his face and a headband secured tightly on his forehead. Whispers filled the room – as they usually did when something questionable occurred – about how the "_stupid faced bastard_" had managed to become a Genin. Naruto's ocean colored eyes swept over his classmates, almost as if rubbing his presence in their faces. Hitomi smirked sleepily at this sight – proud that the blonde was able to evoke such reactions from his fellow shinobi. Besides, the kid had a way of adding a little spice into the everyday boredom. The kunoichi would miss his antics; even if Ikasu hated the blonde, she'd become attached to him pranks.

As Ikasu's name came to mind, her own orbs scanned the classroom: all the seats were filled, all except Ikasu's. Although her friend detested attending the Academy just as much as she did – for more personal reasons than simply hatred or slothfulness – Hitomi was sure he wouldn't miss this day. Today, Iruka-sensei would announce the teams. As much as she herself loathed the idea of finally becoming a full-fledged kunoichi, curiosity still plagued her mind. They would have to spend who knows how many years beside their team.

Then she remembered his absence the previous night. Worry replaced the curiosity and spread like an uncontrollable wildfire. Had something happened to her friend? Caramel brows furrowed as her legs stretched to make her rise on her seat, giving her a view out the window. No sign of Ikasu outside, either.

Iruka cleared his throat at the front of the room, paper in hand. A bright smile adorned his dark features as he looked joyously at each of his students. "First of all, I want to congratulate all of you for making it this far. I am very proud to call you my students." When Iruka started speaking, Hitomi sat back on her seat, shooting her eyes to the back door every ten seconds. Iruka noticed this and called her out on it. "Is something wrong, Hitomi?"

All heads shot to her and suddenly she felt a rush of blood crawl on her cheeks. Her head nodded stupidly. "Ikasu-kun isn't here, Iruka-sensei, and I'm worried." With her eyes, she transmitted to him what the real fear behind her worry was.

He caught the look. "I understand," the adult responded and lowered the sheet of paper in his hands. Of course he did, Iruka _always_ understood. Even if the preteens had complicated him with their endless misbehavior, they'd grown to love their sensei. He'd shown kindness in all its splendor – unconditionally, affectively – and it had been hard to ignore the man. Hitomi and Ikasu soon found themselves trusting the older man. If the children held a secret, Iruka knew it – or sensed it, at least. He was like the older brother neither of them had.

"No one cares," someone in the back mumbled.

Hitomi shot a blind glare in the general direction of the voice: promising death if another outburst were to happen.

"We're a team here," Iruka began, "even if today each one of you goes their own way, this class is a big team. We have to help each other out; I'm sure Ikasu has a good reason to be late."

"But Iruka-sensei, you always let him get away with it!" Another voice chirped angrily.

"Oi, cork it!" Hitomi shot to the new voice – a girl with dark brown hair. "We'll wait for him!"

"Why should we?" The brunette countered. "I don't care what team your boyfriend gets in!"

Hitomi crossed her arms, all traces of sleep covered by her rising rage. A smirk formed on her lips. "Well, then, we're even."

The girl scoffed. "That doesn't even make sense, you idiot!"

"Language," Iruka scolded.

He was ignored. Hitomi shot a blank look at the brunette. "It means, you dumb cow, that I don't care if you get in Sasuke's stupid team."

"Hey!" Another girl called: Haruno Sakura. "Don't bring Sasuke-kun into this!"

"I'll bring whoever the hell I want into this!" The Fujigawa retorted, her chest puffing up and down with her anger.

"Girls, calm down, kunoichis don't act like this." Iruka's voice had taken a menacing tone.

The three girls curled their lower lip, forming a pout, and plopped down on their wooden chairs. "Yes, Iruka-sensei," Sakura said as she hung her head.

"Ass kisser," was Hitomi´s response. The silence in the room didn´t help to conceal her curse. She swore she saw smoke come out from Sakura's ears. "I'll show you what a kunoichi acts like, you'll see."

"Hitomi, _language_," the sensei repeated, his voice echoing in the now silent room.

"You guys are creepy quiet today," a new person joined.

Hitomi shot her head back to the door, a smile plastered on her face – stretching from ear to ear. As soon as her eyes adjusted the smile disappeared. A few gasps echoed in the room as Ikasu made his way down to his seat, next to Hitomi. Before sitting, the boy bowed slightly at Iruka. "I'm sorry for being late, Iruka-sensei, I had a couple family matters to attend to."

Iruka nodded, pursing his lips and trying to not stare. He brought the paper in his hands to his face and began reading to distract both himself and the Genins. "Now, back to the teams," he began to read them off, "Team One will consist of…" and he began calling out names.

Hitomi placed her hand on Ikasu´s shoulder softly. "What happened?" She mumbled, her other hand resting upon her lips.

The boy smiled softly but kept his face staring forwards: hiding the other half of his face. Ikasu shook his head slightly. "It's nothing."

"Yeah, _nothing_," her voice dripped with sarcasm. The hand that rested on his shoulder held out a finger – the index – and ran it´s tip across a long cut that ran from his temple to his chin. Ikasu caught her wrist and turned to face her. Hitomi found a gasp escape her own throat. His left eye was colored a dark purple, another cut decorated his lower lip – the crusted blood covering up its real depth – and it was swollen. She didn´t want to see what the rest of his body looked like.

"Team Two," Iruka continued in the background.

"Ikasu…" she shook her head, "why did…?"

The dark blonde gave her a narrowed glance. "I said it was nothing, okay?"

"I´m not your mom, you don't have to spare me the worry. Just tell me what happened." Her voice was sharp.

He mirrored the tone. "Yeah, I know that. And for the record, you keep plenty of things from me, so deal with it. _It doesn__'__t matter_."

"It's different."

"How so?" He challenged.

"It just is, okay? Come on, tell me-."

"Shh." He covered her mouth.

"Team Three," Iruka read aloud and looked for each face. "Tategami Ikasu-."

"And? And ? _And_?" The boy rose from his seat eagerly, hands in his hair.

"Fujigawa Hitomi…"

"Oh, yeah!" Ikasu pumped a fist in the air, immediately regretting it. He flinched as his sore muscle screamed at him.

"And Mattaki Reikon," Iruka finished then began naming the following team.

The Tategami's jaw went slack, his back arched forward. "_What_?" He mumbled and dragged his face to look at his new teammate. The olive toned girl shot him a sly smirk; demonstrating her pleasure at seeing his discontentment. Ikasu's brow twitched as he plopped back down on his seat and turned his face slowly to the front. "Just _great_."

"Back to the point here, Ikasu!" The caramel haired kunoichi shot, poking his upper arm softly.

"Team Five…"

"Yeah, the point…" his voice trailed as his head plopped down to the wooden surface in front of him. "Can you _believe_ my fucking luck? _Her_. Out of all the girls in the room, it just _had to be her_, didn't it? Great, Ikasu, just when you thought things were taking a turn for the better."

"_Better_? Okay, did you _see_ your face? Your dad really outdid himself this time, why doesn't he pick on someone else…someone his own size? I'll show him, I-."

"Yeah, Hitomi, cause you know, you are so close to being his size." Ikasu mocked. "You're a freaking dwarf, kid." He gripped her pale arm. "And these _muscles_…I'm positive the great and terrifying Tategami leader will piss his pants at the sight of your noodles, Hitomi."

"Team Six…"

The Fujigawa glared. "You done making fun of me?"

He put a finger to his swollen lip. "Hmm, not quite. But I'll save it for later."

"Why'd he do it?"

The boy sighed. "He didn't."

"Then who?"

"Team Seven…" It wasn't long before Naruto's hysterical voice boomed throughout the room, voicing his complaints about his teammates.

"Remember when we were ten and we made a promise?" Ikasu leaned his head back slowly. "One we swore on our lives never to break?"

"I don't like where this is going…" she mumbled, locking gazes with him and ignoring Naruto's growing noise level. Iruka seemed to argue with Naruto, because soon the room was overflowing with laughter.

Ikasu smirked. "I recall you were the one to propose it, Fujigawa. So I don't see why it bothers you so much. What was it again? Never…never…oh, remind me again, will you?"

"_I hate you_…" her lips curled for the second time in the morning.

"Oh, that's right!" He sprang from his seat, feeling pain spread through his body. "Never get involved in each other's crappy family lives." The boy spared a look to his right – wondering why suddenly the room was quiet –, let his jaw fall before shaking his head and turning back to his friend. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Hitomi nodded slowly, mouth slightly open, as her eyes took in the scene before her. A tug threatened the corners of her lips.

By the window, there was more to the scenery then the green foliage of the outside world. The real humor in it was held by two beings – two _male_ beings – who had been caught in a rather unfortunate situation. Naruto hovered over Sasuke in a crouching position, eyes bulging in a way it seemed they would soon break away from their sockets. His lips were roughly connected with the Uchiha's in the most intimate of ways. Sasuke's face was a gloomier version of Naruto's.

The grin suddenly evaded her face. "And suddenly my day stopped being so shitty."

"I knew it!" Ikasu boomed, standing on his chair and pointing at the now gagging boys. "You guys were so gay!"

Hitomi stood beside her friend and made her voice meet his level. If there was ever an adequate time to get their vengeance – Ikasu for the jealously he'd experienced the previous day and Hitomi for summoning the storm; intentional or not – that time was now. "Of course, there's nothing wrong with that, right, Ikasu?" Both the Uchiha and the Uzumaki shot them deadly glares; their tones were, after all, more than mocking. The boys knew what was coming.

"Oh, no, no! Nothing wrong! I just…I'm kind of hurt, you see." The dark blonde continued and gave Sasuke a theatrical pained expression. "I mean, with all those _sweet looks_ you gave me yesterday and all, I just thought we really had a special thing going for us, _Sasuke-kun_."

Hitomi faked a gasp and placed her ashen fingers over her lips; eyes meeting in a worried fashion with Ikasu's. "How mean for him to break your little heart like that, Sasuke-kun has a _tendency_ to do that often. But you know what they say, don't you?"

"Please," Ikasu placed a hand over his heart, "tell me, Hitomi."

Hitomi's gaze turned smug suddenly as she turned from her friend to the recuperating Uchiha. His dark eyes narrowed as her smirk grew wider and more grotesque. She crossed her arms casually, arrogantly. "_What goes around comes around_."

* * *

><p>Ikasu was avoiding the question. Either that or he was avoiding their new teammate. Hitomi wasn't quite sure which one bugged him the most.<p>

Iruka had told that each team would be meeting their sensei in the Academy – each in a different classroom, of course – after lunch. As soon as they had been dismissed, Ikasu had run for the door and disappeared mysteriously. Reikon – the third member of Team Three – had waited for their classmates to leave the room before exiting calmly herself, shooting Hitomi a disapproving glance as she went.

_Yep_, Hitomi thought,_ this will be interesting_.

The young Fujigawa sat down on a patch of grass under a tree. Placing her elbow on her knee she rested her chin on her fist – trying to find a comfortable position that wouldn't provoke the desire to sleep. Her lids shut droopily no matter how much effort was wasted. Hitomi sighed and lay down on her back, reveling in the sensation of the rich grass digging into her exposed skin.

The tips of the grass were dry and mostly split; their color a dark cream. The soil was chilly, despite the arising, unbearable heat in the atmosphere: a sign of the thunderous weather that had departed half a day ago. In all, the coolness that touched her ashen skin was a relief from the sweat that threatened to built up and drip from her pores. It helped trim down the anxiety she'd felt moments earlier.

Her spine popped as she stretched her limbs lazily on the flat ground, fingers intertwining with each blade of grass that danced against her hands. The sensation was ticklish and the kunoichi found herself giggling softly before letting out a long, tired breath.

Hitomi found her relaxing place. It could've been hours and she wouldn't noticed. The girl could've happily lain there for an endless amount of time with the grass, the shade of the tree and the distant sounds of singing birds.

Like all good things, the calm soon found its end. Hitomi groaned and rolled over onto her belly when she heard a feminine voice mumbling away nonsense. Her sleepy eyes settled on the paved path a few meters away: complete with a stone bench and the shade of many trees.

As the blur in her sight subsided, she caught a glimpse of pink hair. The voice that interrupted her much needed rest matched the body that walked down the path; red clothes fluttering delicately in the breeze.

Hitomi glared, although Sakura couldn't see it since her back was turned towards her. "Oh, that girl is asking for it…"

Sakura continued murmuring to herself as she sat down on the bench; something about her lack of curves. The Fujigawa found herself subconsciously looking at her own body – it left a lot to be desired in male eyes. She had the average body of a twelve year old girl: two small bumps stuck out from her front side, another subtle roundness formed over her butt. Hitomi had never given much thought to her own body, as long as everything functioned correctly, there really wasn't any more to it, right? Now that she thought about it, Ino had a pretty pronounced front side accompanied by a delicate, feminine waist – maybe that was the reason why Ikasu constantly gawked at her.

A third presence made itself known, crashing Hitomi's train of thought and making it burn quickly. The young brunette rested her chin on her hands, laying totally flat on the grassy surface. In the far end opposite to her, Sasuke stood leaning against a tree, a sly smile plastered upon his pale features. Sakura raised her head in anticipation, awaiting eagerly for the Uchiha to speak.

Sasuke pushed himself smoothly – as expected of him – off the trunk and made his way swiftly to Sakura. The pink haired kunoichi maintained her bewildered expression and gazed up at him, amazed by his handsome features. He spoke in his arrogant voice; mouthing words that sounded strange on his lips. "You sure have a large, charming forehead. It makes me want to kiss it."

Hitomi brought her hand to her lips, stifling a laugh from erupting violently from her mouth. This was better than she expected: the great, stoic Uchiha Sasuke expressing his feelings of _love_. At least something this entertaining would advert her from falling into the darkness of sleep and missing her sensei's introduction. So the Fujigawa remained still and silent, keeping her hand over her mouth in case any other noise decided to burst out. She tried to blend in with her surroundings.

Sasuke chuckled then. "That sounds like something Naruto would say."

Sakura's face dropped, dreading the way he had said it. She had been so close – or so she thought – at conquering him; finally beating Ino. Sasuke sat beside her on the bench. "Sakura, there's something I want to ask you."

"Huh?"

"What do you think of Naruto?"

The question was unexpected to her. Sakura furrowed her pink brow, irritated at the mention of Naruto's name. "He's always getting in the way of my love…" she murmured angrily, "and he enjoys seeing me struggle. Naruto doesn't understand anything about me, he's just annoying. All I want is…" she felt the heat rushing to her cheeks, "for you to acknowledge me."

Sasuke's eyes widened, more than anyone ever thought they would. His expression seemed…hurt. At least that's what it looked like from where Hitomi was lying. Something wasn't quite right in the situation, that was for sure.

"I'm serious. I would do anything…because I like you." The blush became deeper, it burned fiercer. Sakura decided it was time to make a move: if not now, not ever. They were alone and she had confessed her feelings to him. He hadn't rejected her, either. All that was left to do was seal the deal with a kiss. So she leaned in closer to him, slowly examining the waters they drifted in. Every inch made both their hearts beat faster.

Hitomi blushed for interrupting their intimacy. Sasuke turned beat red. That's when something inside the Fujigawa clicked: Sasuke wasn't known to be loving, or kind, or even accepting. He was the type of guy who, no matter what he felt, would push his beloved away. All for the sake of his goal, for revenge. Sasuke would never allow anyone to get near him so affectionately: had that not been the reason he had pushed her away, after all?

The puzzle solved in the seconds it took for their lips to be a few inches apart. This wasn't Sasuke. Hitomi made quick work to rise from her comfortable spot and race towards them, quickly seating herself in between; her pale legs separating them. Both of Team Seven's members flew to an upright sitting position, shooting glares up at the newcomer (although, not truly so new). The brunette bathed herself in the pleasure of knowing she was the new reason for Sakura's anger.

"Sorry to interrupt this little…_thing_," Hitomi waved her hands in front of them and then poked Sakura's wide forehead. "But I'll have you know, I saved you big time, Pinky."

"What the hell do you want, idiot?" Sakura shot sharp daggers up at Hitomi, expressing the full extent of her inner anger. Inner Sakura would've pummeled her into the ground and knocked her senseless. For Sasuke's sake, she remained as calm as she could.

"Nothing really, just to rid the world if impostors," the Fujigawa gave Sasuke a meaningful glance before jumping down on the paved path and gripping the Uchiha's wrist, pulling him forcefully from the bench and beginning to run away.

"Hey, let go! What're you doing?" Sasuke demanded.

"Let him go, you stupid, immature little bi-!"

"You'll thank me someday, Haruno." Hitomi waved her arm and left the pink haired kunoichi to mourn her loss. Once they were out of sight and Sasuke's attempts at escape had disappeared, she let his wrist slip from her fingers.

"What the hell is your _problem_?" He asked incredulously, following behind her.

"Look, I'm all for the whole," she made her hand make circles in front of her, "_all's fair in love and war_ thing, but as much as I detest Sakura, I don't think stealing a kiss is going to make her love you, okay? You could just try…being yourself." She shrugged at the last part as they came onto one of Konoha's many bridges.

"I was being my-."

"I've known Sasuke since I was five," she propped up on the railing and faced him, "and I'll have you know, he hasn't blushed since he was eight."

The impostor frowned. "So you noticed…"

"Just a little," she poked his nose.

"How did you know it was me?"

Hitomi chuckled. "I don't know _who_ you are, I just know you're not _him_."

"Oh," he laughed stupidly before releasing the transformation jutsu. Out of a puff of white smoke appeared Naruto; his bright clothes and hair adding more light into his guilty looking features. He scratched the back of his head, looking a lot like a child being caught stealing.

"So what's the deal? You like Sakura?" The girl asked casually.

"_Like_? You kidding? I _love_ her!"

"I see," Hitomi smirked, "and your plan was to…what exactly?"

"Well," he took a seat beside her, "I wanted to find out what she thought about me…if she loved me, too."

"By pretending to be her crush?" She arched an incredulous eyebrow before rolling her eyes. "_Boys_…"

"What?" Naruto glared his ocean colored eyes.

"Didn't you consider flowers…chocolate…_a freaking teddy bear_? Not even a secret love note?"

"You think that would work?" He asked excitedly.

Hitomi smiled widely. "Not really."

His face fell. "Then why are you even suggesting it?"

"It just sounds a lot more credible then that stunt you pulled." A yawn escaped her lips. "So where is the _real_ Sasuke, anyways?"

Naruto smirked evilly. "I tied him up."

Her jaw dropped. "You _what_?"

"Tied him up," he pronounced each syllable heavily as he swung his body back and forth on the railing; an idiotic smile hovering over his face.

Her eyes opened a tad wider. "You're a twisted little sucker, aren't you?" He lowered his gaze a little before seeing the sick smile that spread across her pale face. "And yet, I like your style."

Naruto arched one blonde eyebrow at the kunoichi before watching her slide down back to the wooden planks of the bridge. "Okay, then…what's that even _mean_?"

"Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

The blonde let his lips curl slowly upwards. "You bet."

"Need any help?"

"_You_ want to help _me_?"

"Sure, why not?" Hitomi shrugged.

"You hate me." He stated quizzically, wondering what this girl was up to.

"Correction, Ikasu hates you. I have no feelings towards you whatsoever. Sasuke on the other hand…" she trailed off as a strange grin mixed in with her earlier expression.

Naruto eyed the girl carefully. "You like the idiot, too?"

He had expected a slap, a blush, maybe even some nasty worded denials. Instead he was granted a laugh: hysterical, cynical and completely pure. A twisted kind of joy mixed in with her beaming face. "For Kami's sake, no."

"Then what?"

"I don't like him, he doesn't like me. Sasuke's done some nasty things in the past…he was a very screwed up little kid, you know? Anyways…have you ever had the urge to put things in their rightful place?"

"So," Naruto crossed his arms, "you want to teach him a lesson."

Hitomi made an X over her chest. "One he'll never forget." She held out her hand towards the blonde. "What do you say, Naruto?"

He took a moment to ponder his choices. He didn't like Sasuke at all, either. "The only thing I want is for Sakura-chan to like me…" his index finger tapped his bottom lip.

The Fujigawa held up a finger. "Remember she's in love with Sasuke."

"If we make him look like a jerk, she'll come running to me."

She smiled gently, genuinely. "Perhaps."

If anything, he'd have a little fun, wouldn't he? He wrapped his tan arm around her pale one, reveling the contrast their skin tones emitted. He smirked and turned the sly grin to her. "Deal."

* * *

><p>The story of Ikasu's life had always gone along the lines of <em>wrong place, wrong time.<em> One would think the young Tategami had grown accustomed to suffering finding him beforehand. When he was younger, his mother used to tell him to be good; only then would good things happen to him.

Ikasu had behaved, continued his duty, let his father use him as he saw fit. He followed his family's customs: learned, obeyed and preached his fate. Until age nine – almost ten – he had been a perfect son. His father had actually demonstrated pride in him a few times. The clan had worshiped him; accepted him as their future leader. His siblings looked up to him. But to all of them, he was untouchable, distant and cold. The perfect Tategami. Ikasu had always felt half empty.

The day he met Hitomi was that day the emptiness faded, if only slightly. She showed him friendship and fun – something his family had seen no use to. It wasn't long before the miniscule adoration his father – Ikazuchi – felt for him transformed into rage.

Hitomi taught him to be himself. Now, Ikasu had always been the black sheep: always longing for affection, for love. His mother was a sweet woman, caged beside a heartless man. So tender touches were a rare occurrence. Until his dear Fujigawa friend entered his twisted life. Becoming so emotional and joyous was what led Ikazuchi to dishonor his only son. The most contact he'd ever shared with his father were the time to time beatings. But Ikasu didn't care about the pain; having fun with Hitomi was enough to forget about anything horrid.

As Ikasu walked down the paved pathway, he touched his sore eye.

All of Konoha knew about the Tategamis: how they raised warriors, not children. His clan was known to be the most ruthless and uncaring of them all. Their allegiance was a tight knot with Konoha, of course. They made up some of the village's most powerful shinobi. There was not special Kekkei Genkai or signature jutsu that tagged along with the name: just the raw talent of being a brutal killing machine. Since Konoha was grateful for such shinobi, they were allowed to continue their traditions. When a boy misbehaved, it resulted in a one on one challenge with their father – which was usually the case for Ikasu.

Although the previous night had not been a beating. I had been an initiation, a test. Ikasu had to prove himself worthy – once again – of his clan's trust. As the only male heir, he was expected to be the most brutal of them all. In the past couple years, the boy had learned all about making emotional masks: the reason for which the duels with his father had reduced quite rapidly. Ikasu had gone home after leaving the Academy, placed his mask on and prepared himself for a showdown.

The clan chose another boy from the lot – he had been a tad older tan Ikasu – and made them fight hours on end, until the very end. If Ikasu was victorious, the clan would begin to reconsider his leadership.

He had, of course, won. Otherwise he wouldn't be there, walking down that road. He'd be six feet underground: just like his opponent was. At twelve years old, Ikasu had already killed a human being. His little sleep had been plagued by monsoons of blood. Tategami was now officially woven into his soul.

Ikasu kicked a stone that crossed his path: trying to forget what he'd done. He couldn't tell Hitomi: she wouldn't look at him the same way, that is, if she ever spoke to him again. This was why he had agreed to her deal two years prior: because neither of them had a family story worth sharing. It was better like that, anyways.

The Tategami was caught off guard when a shrieking voice reached his ears. He stopped in his tracks and looked to his right: finding a joyous looking Sakura and Sasuke, wearing his signature frown. He watched as the scene unraveled before him.

"I'm so glad you came back, Sasuke-kun! How dare she just take you like that?" When the Uchiha didn't answer her accusations, she continued. "I bet she's jealous of us."

"Where's Naruto?" He questioned, giving her a glare to make her pipe down.

She didn't catch his drift. "Who cares about Naruto? All he does is get in fights with you. Well, he hasn't had a normal childhood." Sakura pointed out.

Sasuke realized he would get not coherent answers from his new teammate, so he began walking away. The she said something that made him stop abruptly.

"He doesn't have any parents. He can do whatever he wants. If I acted like him, my parents would get so mad. He's so lucky, all alone, parents never getting on his case." She ranted and missed the glare Sasuke shot her. "That's why he misbehaves so much."

"All alone…" the Uchiha mumbled, his clam departing from his being. Could she even hear herself?

"Huh?" Sakura arched one delicate pink eyebrow.

"The sadness of having a parent yell at you is nowhere near what he feels." Sasuke continued.

"What's this…all of the sudden…?" Sakura mumbled to herself.

"You're…" Sasuke faced her fully, showing his complete glare, "annoying." With his last words said Sasuke left the area. He walked past the Tategami boy, who stood there holding a narrowed glance at him.

Ikasu saw the way Sakura had realized her mistake: saw the sadness and regret. He didn't expect the Uchiha to see it. He felt bad for the poor state Sakura had been left in, no matter what her words had been. Ikasu sighed and walked over to the kunoichi, watching as her head lowered onto her knees.

"Hey," he whispered and sat beside her, "you okay?"

Sakura looked up at the blonde boy, a few salty tears had made their way down her face. She quickly wiped them away. Her first instinct was to ignore Ikasu, seeing as he was Hitomi's teammate, but when her eyes came upon his concerned face – a handsome face, too – her resolution came down to a simple nod. "Maybe next time…" she mumble and looked at the stone ground, "I can be a little nicer."

Ikasu smiled. "I think that's a good idea. But Sasuke shouldn't have said that, either."

"But he's right." Her voice was defeated.

"Having no parents must be a horrible thing," he told her, "but having the wrong kind of parents can be just as bad. Look," he waited until she looked up at him through her long lashes, "I'm not very good with tears and comforting and all that stuff, but I am a guy and I can tell you one thing."

It took him longer than she expected for him to continued, so she asked. "What is it?"

"For starters, you are a very pretty girl, Sakura-chan," at this she blushed, "don't get the wrong idea: my heart's set." Ikasu smiled brightly as he revealed this information. "But behind that pretty girl I bet there's an even more attractive person. He'll realize that someday." He leaned back casually.

Sakura smiled gently then and nodded slowly. "I hope so."

"He will," he confirmed, "sooner or later."

"You know," she started, smile still in place, "you're not such a bad guy."

Ikasu thought of the irony. He hated himself at that moment, yet that little comment made him feel a little lighter. "You have _no idea_ how nice it is to hear that, Sakura-chan," the boy gave her a grateful glance, "thank you."


	4. Ch 3: Game Plan

Chapter Three: Game Plan

Three puzzled faces gawked forward unblinkingly. They took in every detail about the adult currently entering the room – drank it in and allowed it to seep into the silence that had previously been plaguing the space around them.

He was tall, clothed with the customary Jounin attire – green vest, dark pants and shirt. It was complete right down to the gloves. A headband rested on his forehead, arrogantly displaying Konoha´s symbol. His hair was dark like a moonless midnight, yet his skin stood out like the stars on a clear, blue sky. The color of his eyes remained a mystery for he had yet to reveal their depths.

Team Three´s hypothetical sensei had penetrated the room soundlessly, not bothering to spare a sole glance. He made a blind path towards the middle of the space, dropping his body elegantly onto the floor. His legs were crossed as he placed the palms of his hands over his knees. Thin lips parted slightly and allowed a single, steady breath to roll off. This silent man was the personification of serenity.

Ikasu arched an eyebrow at this shinobi´s odd behavior. "Excuse me, but are you-."

"Shh," the dark haired man interrupted peacefully, never once allowing the noise to disturb his unruffled mask. As if a stone was dropped in the water but created no ripples.

The blonde boy narrowed his eyes but shut his mouth. Ikasu made his way towards a desk and plopped down, taking a kunai from his pouch and weighing it in his hand.

Hitomi was next in line to throw a stone into the calm sea. She walked cautiously around him, examining his façade. The girl settled for tapping his shoulder lightly. "Oi, are you-?"

"Shh," the man repeated.

The Fujigawa huffed at this – crossing her arms over her chest childishly and retreating to another desk; stretching both arms into the air before sitting down and resting her head in a makeshift pillow of limbs.

Reikon didn´t bother interrupting the Jounin. She simply unbuckled the large pack that wrapped around her waist and emptied its contents onto the wooden table facing her. Patiently, the Mattaki began arranging her supplies, keeping count of every amount she was presented with. A Mattaki – a medic, at that – could never be too careful, too prepared. A large pack and a variety of supplies was crucial; she´d learnt this long ago.

Minutes passed slowly.

A fly fluttered from one end of the room to another trying desperately to go outside – it crashed into the window a few times -, taking short stops along the way on each soul in the classroom. The Jounin paid no attention to it – not breaking his meditation – even when it attempted to crawl into his ear, while Ikasu tried to slice it in half. The fly feared for it´s life and retreated towards Hitomi; she lifted her head when she felt its multiple legs tickle her arm, but quickly discarded its intrusion and resumed her slumber. When it reached the last member of Team Three, it was met with chocolate irises. Both beings gazed at each other for a few seconds, almost as if they understood each other. Reikon finally lifted her body from her seat and walked towards the windows; she ignored the hateful glare Ikasu treated her with as she passed by. As soon as she cracked the window open the small insect flew outside. The Mattaki took in a gulp of fresh air before turning back, chin lifted high, and sitting in her original place.

The silence in the room grew, spreading everywhere. It was heavy, boring. It seemed that the enigmatic man would remain this way forever. Ikasu chuckled lightly when a small snore cut the air behind him. He spun the kunai on its tip on the wooden surface in front of him.

Finally, the adult rolled his head; popping the joints in his neck. A breeze swam into the room and the Jounin took this opportunity to take one final gulp of air. The eyelids that had so securely been guarding his eyes opened in a measured manner, disclosing a pair of grey orbs. He took a look at the preteens and their current state and made a show of arising quickly. The man walked past the Mattaki and Tategami, heading straight for the caramel headed girl.

"You´ll never wake her up now," Ikasu told him as he turned around to watch the man.

It appeared that the man accepted the challenge, made a fist and harshly knocked it on Hitomi´s head. The kunoichi awoke with a start, gripping her head and slurring out a string of curses. Crocodile tears fell from the corners of her eyes. Ikasu burst out with a fit of laughter and Reikon stifled her own.

Hitomi growled, still unable to release her head. "What the hell was that for?"

"Sleeping on a mission." The Jounin answered dryly.

"You´re one to talk!" She countered, flinching at the way her own voice seemed to echo inside her. "You were doing it, too!"

"If you became a Genin you should know the difference between sleeping and meditation."

"I´ll show you meditation…" she grumbled while slumping in her chair in an effort to calm the ache in her head.

The man went back the way he came and stopped before Ikasu. The boy smirked up at the man but continued playing with the kunai. "With all due respect," he began, "this isn´t a mission."

"Wrong," the older man informed then raised his voice so that all three of the Genin could hear him. "From now on, every minute you spend with your team will be considered a mission. If you are training, escorting or just bonding it will all be for Konoha´s sake. The three of you serve this village so it´s time to start acting like true shinobi of the Leaf." He snatched the kunai from Ikasu´s hands, ignoring completely the protest he received. "This is a tool," he through the kunai at Reikon´s direction, missing her face by only centimeters and instigating the girl to jump, "not a toy." The Mattaki´s chocolate eyes remained wide, matching the expressions on her teammates faces. The man paced in front of Team Three before stopping and taking in every single one of their faces. "My name is Riakusu Ikkyou, and I will be your sensei."

* * *

><p>Ikkyou took the Genin outside and urged them to sit under the shade of a large tree. A single swing hung from the thickest branch – the same swing Naruto had been seen spending many afternoons on. He instructed them to sit the way he had in the classroom and to begin with their own meditation. This would be a part of their daily training, that is, if they made it past their final exam; which was yet to be revealed.<p>

In reality, Ikkyou knew very well how hard it was to achieve meditation for a beginner – he had been doing it for years. His own family – so small it couldn´t even be considered a clan – concentrated mainly on this aspect of preparation. They believed knowing one´s inner self was the key to figuring out other´s intentions. So Ikkyou observed. Not a single twitch escaped the Jounin´s senses.

The first thing he made a note of was their seating arrangements. The darker toned kunoichi sat the farthest from her teammates: as far as the tree´s shade would allow her. The other two were sitting next to each other in an almost huddled way. There was obvious tension, the same kind he noticed when he first entered the room. Every passing moment the hostility grew darker.

Ikkyou took another moment to take in their stances and expressions.

The blonde boy struggled to find a comfortable position and his never seizing movements caused a series of rustling noises. Every time he moved the olive toned kunoichi lost her concentration and her features contorted until forming an annoyed manifestation. The last girl, the pale one, continuously snapped her head up – making it obvious that her focus was more on avoiding sleep rather than meditating.

Ikkyou sighed heavily. "Alright, that´s enough." The Genin opened their eyes groggily. "Now, everyone get in a circle."

Ikasu laughed, causing his sensei to arch a dark eyebrow and Reikon to glare at him.

"Is something wrong?" The adult questioned.

The boy tried to calm his fit of laughter before formulating his answer. "I don´t think you´ve noticed just who we are."

"My students," was his blunt answer.

"No, no," Ikasu repeated his statement as he shook his head, "_who_ we are."

The man thought for a second. He hadn´t asked their names yet, that´s for sure, but he also hadn´t bothered to take in the clan symbols that delicately adorned their clothing. It was clear where the olive toned girl came from – her skin tone was rare in the Hidden Leaf. Ikkyou decided to allow them the pleasure of introducing themselves. "I suppose I don´t know that. Go ahead, then, tell me who you are."

The blonde was the first to stand. He placed a fist over his chest and accompanied it with a proud smirk. "Tategami Ikasu, future leader of the Tategami clan."

Their sensei nodded slightly and turned his attention to the girl beside Ikasu. She stood and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Fujigawa Hitomi."

Ikkyou´s head signaled for the final member to speak. The girl stood as well – straight, formally and respectfully – then bowed vaguely. "Mattaki Reikon."

_Interesting_, Ikkyou thought before Ikasu´s rugged voice broke any hope he had for thinking.

"You see now? There´s a _huge_ problem here," it was hard to miss the way his hands moved back and forth between himself and Reikon.

Being the serene shinobi he was, Ikkyou ignored the unmistakable hatred that plagued both of his student´s aura. If they made it through their final exam, he would make them change that. They were a team, after all. "All I heard were your names."

The boy´s voice grew. "Are you kidding me or are you just plain stupid?" Hitomi placed a hand on Ikasu´s shoulder to quiet him down but he merely shook her off. "No, this moron has to fix the problem! There is no way in hell I´m going to-!"

"I´m well aware of the rivalry between Mattaki´s and Tategami´s that you are trying to make me see." Ikkyou began, a small glare piercing the boy. "But I won´t allow a silly hatred to stain this team or to interrupt our training. You are all part of this cell now, like it or not, and you were all placed together for a reason. The three of you complete each other, so you´ll just have to learn to deal with it."

Reikon smirked. "Typical Tategami, losing control and screwing things up."

"No one said you could talk!" Ikasu shot back.

"I can talk whenever I want, you don´t own me." The girl´s voice remained calm and controlled. She was testing him.

"Enough, you two." Ikkyou instructed, getting between their lines of vision. "I´ll let you go so you can sort out your issues. Tomorrow we will meet here at first light for your final exam."

"Exam?" Hitomi questioned, tilting her head to the side.

The Jounin nodded. "If you fail this, you will all be sent back to the Academy."

"It´s a load of bullshit! We already passed every exam! We already have our headbands! You can´t just take it away!" Ikasu complained, fists clenched tightly.

"These are the rules. I warn you, this won´t be like any other test you´ve had. So be prepared to use any means necessary to succeed." He gave the three of them a meaningful glance before taking off.

"Try not to get in my way, Tategami." Reikon warned.

Ikasu – already bubbling to the core with rage – stomped over to her and got in her face, his green eyes shaking with the anger that coursed through his system. "I haven´t hit you because you´re a girl," he seethed, then brought his index finger and thumb to their faces for emphasis, leaving a small space between the two tan fingers, "but you´re _this close_ to being beat to a pulp."

"Ikasu, stop it," Hitomi grumbled from behind him, trying to pull him off.

Reikon gave him a superior look and allowed sarcasm to taint her serene voice. "I´m shaking, really."

"You will be," he threatened, nails digging into the skin on his hands.

"I´m not surprised to see you threaten a girl. After all, your kind has never had any problem getting their hands dirty, now have they?" Reikon gave him a final glare before walking away.

Hitomi gave Ikasu an annoyed look. "That went _real_ smooth."

"How do you expect me to act?" He shot angrily, still strung up from his tiny confrontation. "She´s a Mattaki, my sworn rival. She-."

"Is part of our team," the Fujigawa finished for him, index finger sticking out in front of her face. A small smile played on her lips. "Just give her a chance. She couldn´t be _that_ bad." Hitomi stretched and yawned. "Well, I´m going to sleep. See you tomorrow, neh?"

He nodded, missing the fact that the sun was still up and shinning and walked off in the direction of his home.

As he walked, he thought of ways to fix his current situation. He knew what would happen if he were to befriend or even accept Reikon as his teammate. All the trust and honor he had gained after his first kill would be lost. He would be weak, vulnerable. His father would doubt him once more. Ikasu would be nothing. All he knew was that he had to get rid of Reikon before it any damage was done.

His walk morphed into a sprint.

* * *

><p>A loud knock on the door made the kunoichi grumble profanities as she walked to answer it. When she opened the door, Naruto´s grinning face appeared. The smile disappeared when he caught sight of her glare.<p>

"Don´t tell me you were sleeping." He teased.

"I was, actually." Hitomi said grudgingly.

"Are you kidding me? The sun hasn´t even set yet!" The Uzumaki discarded the subject, losing interest as her sour look intensified. "Anyways, can I come in?"

The girl stepped aside with a sleepy sigh, allowing him to enter her small home. In reality, Naruto wasn´t too surprised when the stench of rotting leftovers invaded his nose or when his eyes adjusted to the mess sprawled around the small home. The blonde embraced it – even welcomed it – and decided this was most likely what his own apartment looked like. It didn´t take him long to accommodate himself on one of the two chairs sitting in the middle of the room. He leaned on the back of the chair, arms crossing behind his head as Hitomi sat on the edge of her bed; still rubbing the grogginess from her irises.

"So why did you come here?"

A wide, toothy grin spread across his features. "We´ve got a final exam tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." Hitomi took a moment to absorb his expression fully. Something screamed trouble at her, she just couldn´t pinpoint what it was. The lack of information he provided irked her. "Spit it out, Naruto."

The boy chuckled. "You´re impatient, you know that?" He looked at the scrolls still lying on her table for a second. "But so am I, so I´ll just get to the point."

"Thank you," the way she said it made him realize the profundity of her irritation.

"Sasuke wants to pass this test. He has to prove he´s better than all of us. We can´t let him think that way," he left the speech hanging for her to deduce her own conclusion.

"You want to sabotage him?"

"Of course!" Naruto smirked. "Kakashi-sensei told us we couldn´t eat a thing until tomorrow, so we can´t do it that way. I was thinking more along the lines of disturbing his sleep."

"And how exactly do you suppose we do that?" Hitomi arched a caramel eyebrow.

"Doing what we do best," the blonde left the answer hanging in the air.

Slowly, a smile spread across her features as it sunk in. "Being loud."

"And obnoxious." He added joyously.

"Okay, but we need our rest, too, so we have to come up with a game plan." The kunoichi scratched her head. "How´s a walk sound? I need to do some groceries."

Naruto shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

><p><strong>Author´s note<strong>: This chapter was literally hell to pump out. I was so weighed down by life that my creativity and inspiration went below zero. So please review and let me know how it feels to you guys! :D


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